Filmed over just twelve days and largely improvised, Your Sister’s Sister stars Mark Duplass
as Jack, a man struggling to function a year on from the untimely death of his
much loved brother. Jack’s best friend and brother’s ex-girlfriend Iris (Emily
Blunt) offers to let Jack stay at her father’s secluded cabin to help clear his
head. When he arrives he finds that the cabin is already occupied by Iris’
sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), a lesbian who has just ended a seven year
relationship. Mark and Hannah get to know each other and a bottle of tequila later
end up in bed together. When Iris unexpectedly arrives early the next morning a
barrage of secrets, lies and half truths comes her way as the other two try to
hide what happened the night before.
For a film with a budget which wouldn’t cover Twilight's glitter funds, Your Sister’s Sister looks great.
Occasionally you can tell that it was done on the cheap but it never matters.
The improvised script and three superb performances help to give the film a
realism which propels the drama and comedy forward towards a crescendo, a
turning point from which there is no way back. The film’s great selling point
though is its story.
The plot, though largely improvised, flows well and features
a lot of attractive half turns and little surprises which build up tension and
drama. On top of this it is also occasionally quite funny although I’d put it
in the drama-comedy camp rather than comedy-drama. Mark Duplass’ character has
some great lines and his reaction to what is happening around him is great fun
to watch but the drama definitely takes centre stage, especially in the second
half. The love triangle plot is something that has seen so many times that you’d
think it would be impossible to keep fresh but the complex nature of this
triangle feels unexplored and inventive. With Jack secretly in love with Iris
who is his brother’s ex, you have a relationship which you feel will never
happen but it is made even more unlikely when Mark drunkenly sleeps with Hannah,
who happens to be an emotionally vulnerable lesbian. One big and shocking twist
later and you’ve got the makings of a great love triangle.
Acting wise the cast are superb. I’ve never seen Mark
Duplass act before but I have enjoyed at least some of his behind the camera
work. At first he annoyed me but when I got to know the character I thought he
did a great job in between the complex sisterly relationship. For a long time I
was unsure as to why Emily Blunt was speaking in her normal English accent as
her sister was an American, especially as Looper
showed us that her American accent is more than competent. This thankfully was
explained later on as it too was bugging me. Blunt’s naturalistic performance
was also fantastic and it was great to see her having fun and improvising. It’s
not really something that I’ve seen from her before. Rosemarie DeWitt completed
a triumvirate of great performances with her seemingly emotionally exposed performance
that hides something underneath. One of the great things about the acting was
that the improv’ didn’t feel forced or unnatural. A lot of the time it felt
like three people talking as they would do or arguing as they would. It also
doesn’t feel overly rehearsed. In a lot of improvised films it can feel like
the actors or writers spent hours trying to craft the perfect line or word but
here it flows much easier.
My only problem with the film was how the story was
resolved. After such a natural feeling film the ending felt totally unrealistic
for numerous reasons. Without wanting to spoil it I won’t go into them here but
there were at least three things which felt really out of place or wrong. The
very final scene though was excellent and the film ends in a way that makes you
want more. Overall Your Sister’s Sister
is an interesting and smart film with good performances and an excellent story
which I’m glad to see has already made back ten times its budget. It deserves
to.
7/10
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